Alberta Home Education Association

On May 29, 2016, the Deputy Minister of Education announced that effective August 31, 2016, the only funding that will be made available to parents for school completed at home will be under the Home Education Regulation.

Alberta Education Funding Directive

On May 29, 2016, the Deputy Minister of Education announced that effective August 31, 2016, the only funding that will be made available to parents for school completed at home will be under the Home Education Regulation. This is not a result of any legislative change, but is a reflection of the legal situation which has always existed in Alberta.

Alberta Education has indicated that it will take school authorities time to determine new policies and procedures. If you have been teaching your children at home in a totally or partially school directed program, the policy around reimbursing parents for resources may be changing. Parents making plans for the 2016/17 school year should be aware of changes and possible implications.

The Home Education Regulation is the only legislative provision in Alberta which allows for the reimbursement of selected educational resources, and for the parent to complete the program development, implementation and evaluation of their child's progress. Should parents wish for these provisions, they must notify of their intent to home educate under this regulation using the following notification form:

"Monitoring by Education staff has revealed that some school authorities operating online or regular programs are reimbursing parents approximately $1,500. I would like to remind schools and school authorities that the Education Grants Regulation clearly states that the education grant must be used only for the purpose for which it was intended. The practice of reimbursing parents for student participation in online or regular programs directs funding away from instructional support for student learning. Under the Education Grants Regulation, grant funding may be recovered if it is not used for its intended purpose.

If your school or school authority has policies and/or practices in place that reimburse parents for student participation in online or regular learning, please revise these policies and/or end these practices effective August 31, 2016.

The only provision that currently permits school authorities to pay families directly is with regard to home education. As per the Home Education Regulation, an associate school authority must offer parents of a home education student not less than 50 per cent of the home education grant for the purchase of instructional materials. The home education grant provided to authorities is $1,670.81, meaning the reimbursement offered should not be less than $835. Parents must provide the associate school authority with receipts to show how this funding was spent, as the purpose of this reimbursement is to defray costs associated with the programs of study, instructional materials or other resources related to the home education program."

For information on school authorities who have historically offered home education under the Home Education Regulation, please see:

Education Act Update:

On June 3, 2016, Education Minister Eggen announced that 'further discussion and collaboration is needed on specific policy shifts that would take effect should the Education Act be proclaimed. As such, the School Act will remain in effect for the 2016/2017 school year."

This means that the Home Education Regulation 145/2006 will remain in effect as is for the 2016/17 school year, while Minister Eggen engages in further discussion around the Education Act and its associated regulations. The exact format for this engagement will be provided by Minister Eggen at a later date.

Rally to Defend Parental Authority

There are peaceful rallies being held this Saturday, May 14, at 2:00 p.m., at both the Edmonton Legislature and Calgary McDougall Centre. These rallies have been organized by Parents for Choice in Education (PCE) to uphold parental authority that is being denied through the introduction of Bill 10. It is our chance to have a collective voice and stand with fellow parents to protect our children and those for generations to come.